In April 1941, a passenger ship was attacked and sunk by Nazi Germans. This is the story of seven Canadian women survivors detained in Germany.
In April 1941, seven Canadian women became prisoners of war while on a voyage from New York City to Cape Town. Their aging Egyptian liner, the Zamzam, was sunk off the coast of South Africa by the German raider Atlantis. The passengers were transferred to a prison ship and eventually put ashore in Nazi-occupied France. As "non-aliens," all 140 Americans were released after five weeks in captivity, and with the help of theLifephotographer in their midst,the news of their narrow escape became an overnight sensation.
The hapless Canadians were taken to Bordeaux and became part of a group of 28 women and children interned in various German detention camps. By a stroke of luck, the Canadians eventually received permission to travel to Berlin where they were left to fend for themselves and adapt to life among "the enemy." As prisoners-at-large, they established contacts with American journalists and diplomats, an elderly Jewish professor, and even with Nazi propagandist P.G. Wodehouse. Finally, in June 1942, an exchange was arranged and the Canadians were able to board a special diplomatic Freedom Train bound for Lisbon, and from there they got back across the Atlantic to New York and new-found freedom.
Authors
- Bibliography, etc. Note
- Includes bibliographical references and index
- Control Number Identifier
- CaOOCEL
- Dewey Decimal Classification Number
- 940.54/7243082
- Dewey Decimal Edition Number
- 23
- General Note
- Issued as part of the desLibris books collection
- Geographic Area Code
- n-cn---
- ISBN
- 9781459704169 1459703626
- LCCN
- D805.G3
- LCCN Item number
- G68 2012eb
- Modifying agency
- CaBNVSL
- Original cataloging agency
- CaNFSM
- Physical Description | Extent
- 1 electronic text (xiii, 210 p., [16] p. of plates)
- Published in
- Canada
- Publisher or Distributor Number
- CaOOCEL
- Rights
- Access restricted to authorized users and institutions
- System Control Number
- (CaBNVSL)slc00231591 (OCoLC)827363590 (CaOOCEL)440029
- System Details Note
- Mode of access: World Wide Web
- Transcribing agency
- CaNFSM
Table of Contents
- Cover 1
- Title 4
- Copyright 5
- Contents 6
- 1 The last voyage of the Zamzam 20 March–17 April 1941 16
- Welcome on board 16
- Two new passengers 25
- The surface raider Atlantis 34
- Attack at first light 38
- Captives 49
- 2 Prisoners of war on the high seas 18 April–20 May 1941 58
- Aboard the MS Dresden 58
- Through the British blockade 68
- The Americans get lucky 77
- 3 Overland into the Third Reich 21 May–15 June 1941 83
- Sorrowful farewells 83
- Jail-hopping 93
- 4 Liebenau internment camp: 16 June–13 September 1941 99
- The many faces of a new found paradise 99
- The daily round and common task 104
- A sudden turnaround 113
- 5 Stranded in Berlin 14 September 1941-12 June 1942 119
- Hotel Wartburg 119
- Settling into the Damenstift 125
- A changing of the guard 155
- Christmas in Germany 164
- In the heart of the Third Reich 172
- The promise of spring 182
- The Damenstift diplomats 189
- The garden house 196
- 6 Repatriation 13–30 June 1942 208
- Patience rewarded 208
- Welcome home 214
- Notes 218
- Sources and bibliography 226
- Appendix: Zamzam passenger list 230
- Index 238
- A 238
- B 238
- C 238
- D 238
- E 238
- F 239
- G 239
- H 239
- I 239
- J 239
- K 239
- L 239
- M 240
- N 240
- O 240
- P 240
- R 240
- S 240
- T 241
- U 241
- V 241
- W 241
- Y 241
- Z 241
- Plates Section 130
